Gorilla Safari Information

MOUNTAIN GORILLA SAFARI UGANDA AND RWANDA

No African safari tour is complete without seeing the Mountain Gorillas. Go on gorilla safari in Uganda or Rwanda! Experience an unforgettable meeting with these gentle apes yourself! A gorilla safari is easy to book and we would be happy to provide you with a suitable itinerary. Please check our sample itineraries to obtain ideas for your safari or contact us to create a tailor-made tour.

Sample itineraries that include a visit to the mountain gorillas in Uganda or Rwanda:

GORILLA PERMITS

For this once in a lifetime gorilla trekking experience, Great Lakes Safaris will need to buy your gorilla trekking permit in advance. Only 8 people per group are allowed to trek each day. It is therefore necessary to book permits as early as possible. We strongly advise you book at least 3 months in advance to ensure that you can track on the requested date, especially if you plan to trek during the peak season (school holidays) or if you are in a large group.

Gorilla trekking permits in Uganda

Uganda gorilla trekking permits cost USD $600 per person in high season and USD $350 per person in low season (April, May and November). Prices may increase in 2016. Uganda gorilla trekking permits are issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and always must be paid for full in advance.

Gorilla trekking permits in Rwanda

The costs of Rwanda gorilla trekking permits is currently USD $750. They include park entry fees and must be paid for full in advance. Rwanda gorilla trekking permits are issued by the Rwanda Development Board and will be purchased on your behalf by Great Lakes Safaris.

Sale conditions of the gorilla permit

Any visitor who shows signs of a communicable illness (such as a cold or flu) will not be allowed to join the gorilla tour. If a visitor is declared unfit to trek due to illness, 50% of the gorilla tracking fee will be refunded, subject to the discretion of the UWA warden-in-charge. The cancellation policy will apply to visitors who fall sick prior to their travel to the parks.

Permits are non-refundable. However, visitors who track the Mountains Gorillas for the whole day and are (in the highly unlucky 2% of visitors who don’t see them), for whatever reason, will be refunded 50% of the gorilla trekking fee.

Purchasing a gorilla permit is not a guarantee that Mountains Gorillas will be (clearly) seen.

The minimum age limit for visiting the gorillas is 15 years old.

By following these rules and through the purchase of the gorilla trekking permit, YOU too are contributing to the conservation of the mountain gorilla. The wildlife authorities use the funds generated from the sale of your gorilla trekking permit to manage the national parks. Twenty per cent of park entrance fees are invested in local community projects for people living adjacent to the parks – across Uganda. Contributing to these communities’ development helps improve natural resource management and gives local people a direct and positive link to conservation and tourism.

READ MORE…

Are you planning to be part of a visit to a mountain gorilla family? For information on gorillas, their habitats and conservation, check out the following web sites:

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What do our clients say?

Mr and Mrs Savage, UK

Great Lakes Safaris as a company are in our opinion the best we saw operating in Uganda. Other people we met travelling with them confirmed this and observation and conversation with people travelling with other companies showed very varied levels of satisfaction; you are using the best! With a brilliant bird guide! (his name was […]